CRC meets increased demand
Community Resource Center Food Pantry
The Manchester Community Resource Center (CRC) is on the frontline of fighting hunger in our community and COVID-19 has both made their job harder as well as more necessary than ever.
The CRC, located on the east side of Riverside Intermediate School (710 East Main Street), is a non-profit that runs on volunteer power and charitable donations. Alongside a small staff, volunteers keep the office and food pantry running. Additionally, they connect the unemployed, low income, elderly, frail, and disabled members of our community with public and charitable programs to decrease their hardship. Once it became apparent, COVID-19 would spread in Michigan, the CRC began preparing to help more community members and to do it in a safe way.
Laura Seyfried, executive director of the CRC explained, “We have had an increase of people requesting food and supplies from the pantry since the stay-at-home order was enacted. We saw a 30% increase during the month of March, and are on track for a 50% increase this month (April). Fortunately, we are still able to purchase supplies (food and some non-food items) from our main vendor, Food Gatherers.”
Until recently, CRC clients came in and “shopped” the food pantry like a grocery store. Now the CRC takes grocery orders over the phone and fill requests with as many items as they have available, packaging them for pick-up. They are also working with a few volunteers to deliver pantry groceries to homebound individuals.
Seyfried states that if they reach a point where they are not able to purchase staple items or begin to run low on stock, they will move to a system of “pre-bagged” selection of food items with quantity based on household size. “We do not foresee people going hungry in Manchester,” she said, “People may need to try some new foods, be more intentional on how they use the food they have, and/or get more creative in the kitchen.”
The CRC, as always, is working with other local and regional organizations to keep residents fed. They are referring residents over 60 years old to the Chelsea Senior Center’s expanded Meals on Wheels program (734-475-9242). They also want people to know that there is a Little Food Pantry at Manchester United Method Church (near the rear entrance) available 24/7 if they have a need when the CRC is not open. They continue to have a good working partnership with Manchester Family Service. Seyfried states of Manchester Family Service, “If any of their regular monthly food distribution clients have a need for emergency or supplemental pantry supplies, they can reach out to the CRC at any time.”
Along with food purchased from Food Gathers, the CRC has received many donations of food products (and even toilet paper) from community members, churches and local businesses. They continue to gratefully accept donations of food products, cleaning supplies, personal care items, etc. There is a cart located outside their door where items can be left during their current business hours, Monday-Thursday, 11:30 am-2:30 pm.
As the CRC continues to provide food and services to the community, they are following the Washtenaw County Emergency Order for operating the pantry as provided by Food Gatherers. These procedures include keeping their door closed/locked to outsiders and limiting the number of volunteers/staff in the pantry and office to maintain safe distancing. They are requiring staff and volunteers to take their temperature before they come to the CRC and ask them to self-report any sign of illness, and to stay home if they have any symptoms/exposure. They are bagging all of the groceries in new paper or plastic bags, as well as new tote bags from their Census 2020 promotion. They are wiping down all surfaces in the pantry with sanitizer including cooler door handles, tables/countertops, grocery cart handles, etc., after every order is completed, and the floor at the end of the day. They have hand sanitizer, disposable gloves and cloth masks available for volunteers/staff to use. If anyone is not feeling well, they will not be allowed at the CRC.
Seyfried stated, “If community members need food or supplies, please just call us at 734-428-7722, text us at 734-433-6707, or email us at info@manchestercrc.org. We are not enrolling people in our regular pantry program at this time; our dedicated volunteers (only one onsite at a time) are filling food orders as needed. We do still ask for your name and contact info for our tracking purposes, but we are not looking at income eligibility details during this crisis.”
They are also able to help with MIBridges applications over the phone if anyone needs to apply for food assistance or medical coverage. They are not currently taking applications for financial assistance to help with rent or utilities since the funding for those areas has not yet been released. That will likely change in the near future, so please feel free to call them and ask about the options if you are struggling.
They encourage community members to reach out to behavioral health partners, Kathy Walz and Abby Norris, if you need someone to talk to. “Staying at home every day, whether alone or with your family, can be extremely challenging. Kathy and Abby are only a phone call away. (Kathy @ 734-680-5312 and Abby @ 734-395-8975),” Seyfried said. The CRC is also making their own “well check” calls to current clients. If you, or someone you know, would like a phone call please contact the CRC so they can add you to their list.
When asked what else Seyfried wants the community to know, she stated, “We definitely want the community to know that we are extremely thankful for all of the contributions we have received so far: offers to volunteer, pantry donations, monetary contributions, and phone calls ‘just wanting to ask how we are doing’ and to ‘thank us for our work.’ We are also appreciative of our partnership with the Manchester School District. The staff have been very accommodating during this challenging time by making sure we have access to our space in the building, sharing needed supplies with us, and helping out whenever we ask. The support the Manchester community as a whole has shown our organization is incredibly generous and we are grateful! At this time, we are not accepting any new volunteers to work in the food pantry in order to minimize any risk to the community, but we are keeping a list of interested persons for opportunities to help with other projects like food deliveries around the wider-Manchester area or check-in calls. If people really feel the need to physically help somewhere, we encourage you to go to the United Way’s Volunteer Center site at http://www.volunteerwashtenaw.org/covid-19-response-volunteer-information/ We will continue to accept any donations for the pantry that you can spare but please don’t make any unnecessary trips to the store. If you would like to make a financial contribution, you can do so on our website, manchestercrc.org (click on the “donate” button on the home page), or by mailing a check to the Community Resource Center, PO Box 433, Manchester MI 48158.”
She concluded, “We are hopeful that when we are able to meet with people again in person, the CRC will hold its public annual meeting (previously scheduled for March 18, 2020) as a celebration for the community–a way to thank everyone for their support and an opportunity for folks to engage with CRC staff, board members, volunteers and friends.”
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